Seattle wall signs are historic, not eyesores

As an architectural historian and Seattle resident, I was very disappointed to read of the bill before Seattle’s City Council that would ban wall signage [“Signs save historic buildings,” Opinion, March 19].

Anyone who takes the time to look back at historic images of Seattle or any other American city for that matter, will see that wall signage has always been present. A large corporation like Verizon pays for advertising on a building that provides affordable office space to start-up businesses, allowing it to remain financially viable; that is a great and uncommon economic loop of support.

If people think signage on low and medium-rise historic buildings is an eyesore, wait until they see what replaces them when they come down because their owners can no longer afford to maintain them.

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